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Gelatius II
The current Pope of The Papal States, Gelatius is of a more forgiving nature than his predecessor. Formerly the cardinal of a small coastal barony, he was stunned at his elevation to the Papacy, but has endeavored to improve the realm. Biography Emmanuel Jose Toros was born in March of 2235 to Edgar & Isabelle Toros, a pair of fishers. The third of five children, Emmanuel would spend much of his childhood along the shore, playing with the other children waiting on the parents to return from sea. When he was six his parents began taking him with them, which he loved, able to marvel at the vastness of it. He would plan on being a fisherman until he was ten, when their village came under the influence of The Papal States and Soto La Marina. While nominally a part of the Cattle Country, the town was never able to compete with the larger ranchers north of them, and had strong catholic leanings. This combination led to it becoming a barony and the chapel being expanded with stained glass and incense. The resulting Grandeur would leave a deep impression on the young boy, and he began to spend more and more time in the church, talking with the cardinal. By thirteen Emmanuel would be the Cardinal's apprentice, having switched his aspirations after a dream. He was fascinated by the stories of the saints and how many life issues could be addressed by sermons. He would still go fishing with his family however, and still enjoyed it as well helped to provide. Cardinal Buentes would deem Emmanuel's education complete at nineteen, and he became the Barony deacon. The baron entertained thoughts about sending Emmanuel to La Academia de los Jovenes due to Buentes' age, but the elder man thought his apprentice knew enough for their small village, and Emmanuel himself had no desire to leave. To appease his counterpart Buentes would have Emmanuel help with confessions and give input during clerical court. While some residents disapproved of his influences cases at his age, most had no problem and welcomed another opinion. He would travel with Buentes in 2258 to the west to help settle a dispute between two ranching families. The papists would stay at the home of Teresa Hayek, a young mother who took in laundry & travelers to make ends meet. Emmanuel would inquire about her husband, and would be surprised when she said the child's father was a drifter that stayed one day. While established canon frowned on pre-marital sex, Buentes would be very gracious towards her and later told her his protege to "be kind to those who sin, for we are the same." Emmanuel would observe this first hand as they settled the land dispute, spending time with both families to come up with a solution that pleased each. The experience would stick with him the rest of his life, and after he returned he was less dogmatic in opinion.Cardinal Buentes would pass in 2260, and Emmanuel was chosen to replace him after a period of mourning. Having been trained for over a decade, there was little disturbance in the clerical routine. The new Cardinal would slowly spread in reputation over the next several years due to his rulings in court, which were generally of a lenient nature. A notable exception would occur in 2265, when a notorious rancher appeared before him, wishing to be baptized before his death. In a judgement that surprised many, Emmanuel would declare; "Your life of spite and sin, benefiting only himself and ruining others, with no concern for your soul until you feared it lost, will find no respite. The Church does no exist to act as a rubber stamp to the abuses of power, it is to guide those who have lost their way, not the ones who never sought it." This caused some murmurs among the rulers of various realms as they took it as an implied criticism, though the poor and downtrodden, especially the man's victims, celebrated it. When the Saltlands Wars began, Emmanuel was part of the minority that didn't openly support it, but would give a blessing to those who asked for it. He would begin traveling in 2268, dressing as a paisano to see how people lived in the other realms. He would see many different lifestyles and types of leadership, and after a particularly enlightening week in Huervo Nache, would arrive in Soto La Marina. Here he would marvel at the beauty of the cathedral and the various churches, as well as tour the city slums and the red-light district. While he was amazed at the amount & variety of sin, Emmanuel would would find those who partook of them mostly good and seeking an escape. Some would be too heinous for him to tolerate however, and would expound their evils to them. This crowd of mercenaries and gunmen initially laugh at this drifter preaching at them, but after several minutes would grow annoyed. Emmanuel would notice this and wisely leave, though vowing not to allow any money-killers in his church. He returned home in 2270 just before the end of the war, and gave a rousing sermon when it was over. He would catch up on his neglected affairs, and warmly welcome the returning fighters. Things would continue peacefully for the next few years, though Emmanuel did disapproved of Oscar Montera and his stay behind actions, viewing them as self-serving. Pope Pious XV would die in 2276 and Emmanuel would travel to Soto La Marina for the conclave with no aspirations. Once he arrived however, he would find several different factions politicking over goals and papal power. Not concerning himself with the various camps, he would vote in the first several rounds before finding himself on the ballot. Thinking it was a simple mistake, he mentioned it to several others who reaffirmed he was a candidate. Astonished Emmanuel would watch as he cleared the 2/3rd majority needed and was elected as the Pope. He would humbly accept, and take the name Gelatius II, reflecting his historical interests. His first act was tour the various offices and hierarchies of the Vatican to better understand what they did. After receiving reports on their activities, he would next take a look at the realm as a whole, especially the new southern territories. Like everyone of his predecessors he issued bulls regarding sins and the moralism of them, which affected the Red-Light district. He would also meet with the city's mayor and talked for several hours. The rest of the year was spent settling into his new role, with the next spent trying to help the poor, increasing spending on alms and food kitchens. He would try to rewrite the papal tax-code as each fief negotiated it's own rate when it swore alligence, but it would take all of them to agree for the change to pass. To ensure that frontier settlements could report or warn of warbands, Gelatius renewed the charter of the Vatican Broadcast System, as well as strengthen La Luna and the other forts. In 2276, he would inadvertently receive Grox and Tulbas Bone-eater, rulers of a salt-mutant clan and treat them as honored guests, and ended up baptizing them and gaining them as vassals. In 2280 he would meet with grandmasters of the various knightly orders to ask each about their activities and see about setting up some sort of coordination network. While they were receptive, there would not be permanent result, which frustrated the pope. He then increased the Papal checkpoints on Carretera 101, which slightly decreased the amount of caravans attacked. The next year he sent envoys to neighboring regions, but the lack of organization would result in little progress, and the British to the south refused to even receive him. 2282 would see Gelatius investigate the slave trade in the States, sending his personal guard and knights to smash the rings, and had the slavers imprisoned. Somewhat paradoxically, he would also sanction several of the brothels on the outskirts, after the mayor showed them to be willing workers. In the time since, Gelatius has done his best to improve his realm and centralizing, viewing unchecked noble power as dangerous. This had of course led to resentment by the nobles, and unrest is spreading in some regions. He has also grown concerned by rumors that allege some knights with heinous abuse. Appearance Gelatius is an unimposing man of average height and weight, without the presence of other holy men. He has brown eyes and black hair with streaks of grey throughout. He has a moderate tan, a holdover from his childhood, and tends to dress in simple robes outside of formal events. Personality Gelatius is a humble and kind man, with a love of history and literature while of humble origins his intelligence quickly shines through in conversation, as does his compassion. Unlike his predecessor, he does not believe in violence, thinking that the realm should only expand peacefully by conversion. He has a deep dislike of violence, feeling it is only justified in self-defense, and violence for gain is one of the worst sins imaginable. He lacks a knack for politics however, which has led to whispers and intrigue among nobles and cardinals alike. Category:Characters Category:Tamaulipas Category:Mexico